Section 3. Research and Scholarly Affairs Committee. This ...



Bylaws of the Faculty Senateof South Dakota School of Mines and Technology OF SOUTH DAKOTA SCHOOL OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY April 2008ARTICLE I.Name The name of this Organization shall be the Faculty Senate of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, herein referred to as the Senate. The Bylaws of Faculty Senate will govern unless superseded by university policy, state or federal law, or BOR/COHE ContractARTICLE II.Responsibilities and Functions Section 1. The responsibilities of the Senate rest with its elected members who are accountable to their respective constituents. Members are elected from the Faculty at large. Section 2. The Senate has the responsibility and authority to deliberate issues of general faculty concern and to communicate the results of these deliberations and its recommendations to the President or a designee. Section 3. The Senate is entitled to be advised of the disposition of any recommendation it makes. Senate recommendations will be made in writing and forwarded to the administration within two (2) work days of the Senate vote. Dispositions of any recommendations will be made in writing within ten (10) regular work days of the forwarded recommendation. Section 4. The Senate shall have the authority to recommend general policies to the President and the Board of Regents with regard to the following functions: Objectives and academic standards for the institution and its components; Educational matters, especially with regard to those affecting more than one academic division; The organizational structure of the institution with reference to academic matters; Admissions, transfers, scholastic achievement and graduation requirements of the institution; Addition and deletion of all programs and courses; Faculty life, such as standards of appointment and conduct, tenure and retirement, academic freedom, promotion, salary, and the nature and conditions of their work, and all matters of faculty welfare; Student life, such as standards of conduct, discipline, health, living conditions, student organizations, publications, financial aid, and student participation in extra-curricular activities and athletics; Institutional convocations, lectures, entertainment, publications, and media broadcasts; The academic calendar and scheduling of classes; Equipment and physical facilities; Candidates for academic and honorary degrees and other certificates; Selection of a President, a Vice President, and Deans of the institution; Budgets and internal resource allocation; Faculty relations with administrators, including mechanisms for performance feedback; Such other matters as shall be referred to it for study and recommendation.ARTICLE III.Members of the Faculty Section 1. Members of the Faculty are those holding faculty status with 50% or more employment or emeritus status. Section 2. Additional employees may be granted membership by recommendation of the Senate and approval of the Faculty. Section 3. A degree candidate at this Institution cannot be a member of the Faculty. Section 4. Termination of membership coincides with a loss of faculty status or termination of employment. Section 5. Each member shall have one vote in the election of the Chair of the Faculty Senate and in the election of division representative members to the senate. Section 6. Members of the Faculty who hold positions that would result in membership in two departments are considered part of the department in which the majority of their appointment is located. If equal appointment then the member of the Faculty shall indicate which department he/she shall be represented by in all future activities. ARTICLE IV.Members and Officers of the Senate Section 1. The officers of the Senate shall be a Chair of the Faculty, an Immediate Past Chair, and a Recording Secretary. The officers shall perform duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Senate.Section 2. The Chair of the Faculty Senate will preside at meetings of the Senate and meetings of the Faculty. The Chair shall be the chief spokesperson for the Faculty and shall provide liaison between the Faculty and the President of SDSM&T. Details regarding the role and duties of the Chair include:The Chair of the Faculty will preside at meetings of the Senate and meetings of the Faculty. The Chair will vote on motions only when there is a tie vote.The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be elected by Faculty ballot to serve for two years. No person shall be eligible to be elected as Chair for more than two consecutive full terms.Should the Chair be temporarily unable to perform his or her duties, then he or she shall designate a member of the Senate as Chair pro tem.In the event that the Chair is unable to complete the 2-year term, eitheri. the Senate elects a replacement Chair from within the Senate (if fewer than 6 months of the Chair’s term remains) to fill an unexpired term, orii. the replacement Chair is elected from the faculty at large (if greater than 6 months of the Chair’s term remains) to fill an unexpired term. Such a person would then be eligible for the normal two full terms.The Chair also has the authority to appoint members to the Committees that report to the Senate as described in article VII.Section 3. The immediate past Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Senate for one year, unless he or she is a duly elected member of the Senate. Section 4. The Recording Secretary shall be appointed from the membership of the Senate for a one year term by the Chair of the Faculty Senate at the first general meeting of the Senate. Section 5. Each academic department will have the right to elect/designate a member of the department as a Faculty Senator and each of these representatives will have voting privileges in the Faculty Senate. Academic departments are those faculty units that are administered locally by a department chair.Section 6. Senate members may serve multiple two-year terms.Section 7. When a Senate member is unable to fulfill a term, the corresponding academic department will elect/designate a successor to complete the senatorial term.Section 8. Any senator who misses three consecutive regularly scheduled senate meetings will forfeit voting privileges for the academic year. The Faculty Senate can grant exceptions to this rule by majority approval.Section 9. The SDSM&T Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs or his/her designee shall be non-voting ex-officio member of the Senate. ARTICLE V.Election of Senate Members Section 1. Elections for membership to the Senate shall follow the procedure below: In January, the Chair of the Faculty will provide the general faculty a list of senators whose term is due to expire at the end of the academic year.It is the responsibility of each department to elect/designate the person who will serve the subsequent term as senator. All non-administrative faculty will be eligible to serve. The name of the new senator shall be forwarded to Chair of the Faculty before March 1. Any academic department that fails to select a senator for the subsequent term shall lose senatorial representation for the next two academic years. The Faculty Senate will be provided the complete list of new senators during the first Senate meeting in March.Any person selected to serve a term as Faculty Senator must be a member of the Faculty and have plans to be present on campus for the next full academic year. The full list of Senate membership for the next academic year shall be presented to the Faculty at the March meeting of the General Faculty. The new Senate members shall attend the May Senate meeting and assume official duties at the conclusion of that meeting. Section 2. Elections for Chair of the Faculty Senate shall follow the procedure below: A Nominating Committee of five Faculty members shall be selected by the Faculty Senate. The Nominating Committee shall be appointed before the end of December and shall supervise the nomination and election procedure.The Nominating Committee shall prepare a list of nominees for Chair to be presented at the March meeting of the Faculty. Nominees shall prepare a written statement that shall indicate approval of the nomination.Nominees must be a member of the Faculty and have plans to be present on campus for the next two academic years. In addition, nominating petitions may be submitted to the Nominating Committee through the Chair of the Faculty Senate or the Recording Secretary before the March meeting of the Faculty. Nominating petitions are to be signed by the nominee, indicating a willingness to serve if elected, and co-signed by any five (5) members of the Faculty. No restriction is placed on the number of petitions an individual may sign. The full list of nominees for Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be presented to the Faculty at the March meeting of the General Faculty. Additional nominations may be made from the floor during the meeting, with the nominee's approval. If there is only one nominee at the close of the meeting, then that person will become Chair of the Faculty Senate without written ballot. A secret written ballot shall take place during March to select the Chair of the Faculty Senate. The candidate obtaining a majority vote of those voting shall be elected Chair of the Faculty Senate. If no candidate receives a majority vote, balloting will continue until such time as one candidate receives a majority vote. The candidate whose name received the least number of votes shall be removed on successive ballots. If the newly elected Chair is a current member of the Senate, then he or she shall relinquish that position upon taking office as the Chair of the Faculty Senate. Article IV, Section 7, will be followed to complete the Senate. The newly elected Chair shall attend the May Senate meeting and assume official duties at the conclusion of the meeting.ARTICLE VI.Meetings Section 1. Regular meetings of the Senate will be held once a month on a date, time, and location to be determined at the first Senate meeting of each semester and published subsequently to the Faculty. Faculty members may attend any and all Senate meetings.Section 2. Special meetings of the Senate or the Faculty can be called by the Chair of the Faculty Senate, or by a majority of the Senate members. Except in cases of emergency, at least three working days' notice shall be given. Section 3. Fifty percent (50%) of the voting Senate members present at meetings shall constitute a quorum. Section 4. Minutes of all meetings of the Senate shall be kept and distributed by the Recording Secretary or a designee. Section 5. Three general Faculty meetings, announced at least one week in advance, will be scheduled each academic year in September, January, and March to discuss matters of interest to the Faculty.Section 6. Referenda: The Faculty has the responsibility to bring about referenda on issues they deem necessary. Any issue falling within the Responsibilities and Functions outlined in Article II may be referred to the faculty electorate when at least sixty percent (60%) of the of the Senate faculty members support a motion for a referendum, or when at least thirty-five per cent (35%) of the faculty electorate submits a motion through petition for a referendum to the Chair of the Faculty Senate. Any action of the Senate may be referred to the faculty electorate when at least sixty per cent (60%) of the Senate faculty members support a motion for a referendum, or when at least thirty-five per cent (35%) of the faculty electorate submits a petition for a referendum to the Chair of the Faculty Senate. The petition calling for a referendum shall indicate the specific action of the Senate that is the subject of the referendum. Such a petition must be submitted within a period of ten (10) working days of the Senate session resulting in the recommended action to be referred. A majority of the votes cast shall be necessary to sustain the action. ARTICLE mittees The Faculty Senate shall create and maintain standing and ad hoc committees to assist in its deliberations. Such committees are responsible to the Senate and their recommendations on matters of policy become effective only after receiving approval from the Senate.Chairs of all Senate standing committees must be Faculty Senators. All other voting members of a Senate standing committee shall be Faculty members. The voting members on all Senate standing committees are nominated by the Chair of the Faculty Senate and confirmed by the Faculty Senate. The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be an ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee. Any ex-officio non-voting members can be appointed by the Chair of the Senate. The following committees are so established to represent the faculty interests and correspond to the current university administrative structure. Appointed chairs of each committee may meet as necessary with vice presidents or their designee of the corresponding administrative units.Section 1. Academic Affairs Committee. This committee will encompass the specific areas listed under Academic Affairs in the current university organizational chart.This committee is responsible for recommending policies for academic programs of the University as they relate to items such as the creation and/or abolition of Colleges, departments, degree requirements, academic programs and standards, policies concerning grading, final examinations, class attendance, credit by examination, admission and transfer standards, and such related issues. The committee's charge also includes recommending policies and implementing procedures for review of academic programs, in accordance with policies of the Board of Regents.Section 2. Finance and Personnel Committee. This committee will encompass the specific areas listed under Business & Administration in the current university organizational chart.The Finance and Personnel Committee is responsible for monitoring all matters related to the University resources. It shall oversee and review current budget allocations and existing budget related policies and their implementation as put forward by the University Budget Advisory Committee. The Finance Committee may also investigate and review budget proposals and serve as an advisory body to the University Budget Advisory Committee, the Vice President for Business Affairs, and the President of SDSM&T on all budget-related matters including annual budget reviews and allocations. The chair of this committee will be the Senate representative on the University Budget Advisory Committee.Section 3. Research and Scholarly Affairs Committee. This committee will encompass the specific areas listed under Research Affairs in the current university organizational chart.The Research and Scholarly Activities Committee shall consider and recommend policies affecting the faculty with regard to research and scholarly activities of the University. Section 4. Student Affairs Committee. This committee will encompass the specific areas listed under Student Affairs in the current university organizational chart.The Student Affairs Committee shall consider and recommend policies affecting the faculty with regard to student affairs of the University. Section 5. University Relations Committee. This committee will encompass the specific areas listed under University & Public Relations in the current university organizational chart.The University Relations Committee shall consider and recommend policies affecting the faculty with regard to admissions, financial aid, and marketing of the University. Section 6. Bylaws Committee. The Bylaws Committee shall meet at least twice a year to maintain and update the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate as needed, subject to the process for amendment as discussed in Article IX below.Section 7. Ad Hoc Committees. As necessary, other standing or special committees may be appointed by the Chair of the Faculty Senate and confirmed by the Faculty Senate. Any ad hoc committee may only exist for one academic year. Section 8. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will consist only of voting members of the Senate. The Executive Committee may go into executive session by majority vote during any duly called meeting of the Senate. ARTICLE VIII.Parliamentary Authority The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Senate and Faculty in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Senate and Faculty may adopt. ARTICLE IX.Amendment of BylawsSection 1. Through May 31, 2006, these Bylaws of the Faculty Senate may be amended by:Motion through petition by the general faculty with a majority of the faculty in support of said motion, orA majority vote of the Senate, endorsed by a majority vote of those present at a General Faculty Meeting, providing that the amendment has been submitted in writing and distributed to the faculty at least three weeks prior to a General Faculty Meeting. Section 2. Effective June 1, 2006, these Bylaws can be amended by:A two-thirds (2/3) vote of those present at a General Faculty Meeting, providing that the amendment has been submitted in writing and distributed to the faculty at least three weeks prior to the General Faculty Meeting, orA two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Senate, endorsed by a majority vote of those present at a General Faculty Meeting, providing that the amendment has been submitted in writing and distributed to the faculty at least three weeks prior to a General Faculty Meeting. Section 3. The Senate and its Bylaws described herewith are deemed replacement of the Faculty Advisory Council (FAC) and its historical Bylaws.Section 4. The Senate Bylaws defined herewith direct that all committees formerly reporting to the faculty at large shall now report to the Faculty Senate. ................
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